World champion sailors crowned Vic Sport Young Team of Year

YOU can hear the passion when Jan Juc sailor Jack Benyan describes what he enjoys about sailing.

He and Leopold’s Josh Garner were at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club last week reflecting on winning the 2024 Vicsport Young Team of the Year award.

“I just love being able to go wherever you feel,” Jack said.

“It’s very independent and you can choose exactly how you want to do it and where you want to go.”

The Vicsport award recognises a Victorian junior team which has achieved outstanding results at national or international level during the 2024 calendar year.

Jack and Josh dominated the international cadet class in 2024, winning the Victorian and Australian Championships before heading to Plymouth in the United Kingdom, where they became World Champions.

The other three finalists for the team of the year award were from sailing, basketball and swimming.

“It was really special to win it with Jack because we only spent 10 months sailing together and we just spent a lot of time in the boat together over those 10 months,”Josh said.

“It was really cool to bond with Jack over that time.”

“I wasn’t really expecting to win it because there was a lot of really good contenders for it, so it was a bit surprising,” Jack added.

Jack, who only started competitive sailing in October 2023, said he loved learning how to go faster.

Meanwhile, Josh said Jack was great to mentor because he was so determined to learn everything.

Cadets is a two-person under-18 class and the boys competed against 10 different countries at the world championships.

“It’s got three sails, and normally the older person is at the back steering and is a bit of a mentor towards the crew that’s doing more of the stuff up the front,” Josh said.

While Jack has stepped up to skipper in cadets, Josh has progressed this year to the 29ers class, which is generally for those in their late teens.

Jack, a St Joseph’s College Grade 8 student, is looking forward to the world championships in the Czech Republic in August and Josh, who is in Grade 11 at Kardinia International College, has his sights set on the 29er nationals in summer.